Friday Reads – New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay by Georgia Hill

It’s time for another Friday Reads post and this week my featured book is the heartwarming romance novel New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay by Georgia Hill. Isn’t the cover gorgeous? Grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy and let’s get chatting to Georgia. 😊

Blurb

Va Va Bloom is the brand new florist shop in Lullbury Bay, run by the talented – and heartbroken – Daisy.
As soon as she set foot in Lullbury Bay, Daisy knew it would be the perfect place to heal from her past and rebuild her life. Working in her very own florist shop by the sea, life couldn’t be better.

Except… arranging beautiful flowers for the weddings of the seaside elite, including the coastal wedding of the year, she can’t help thinking about what could have been.

Then Rick comes into the shop one day, and she finds herself open to a new romance for the first time in ages. But as it turns out, he isn’t without his own baggage… Will love ever bloom again for Daisy?
New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay is out now: geni.us/lullburybay

Welcome to my blog, Georgia. Can you tell us a little about writing this story?

I’m a writer who loves the research and, for this book, it was a whole heap of fun. As well as researching how a florist’s shop runs, I also had to find out about the lost language of flowers. Florist Daisy receives an order to deliver very specific flowers each month over the summer to an empty house on the edge of town. The mystery gets everyone who works in the shop highly intrigued and they’re soon speculating over who the enigmatic Walter (as they name him) who placed the order, might be. The only thing they know about him is he’s an elderly widower.

Gradually they realise Walter, with each monthly order, is telling a love story in the Victorian language of flowers. And, as the novel progresses, Daisy finds herself with a chance of love for herself.

I knew red roses are associated with love and romance, and A-Level study of Hamlet (a very long time ago) taught me rosemary is for remembrance but that’s as far as my flower and plant knowledge went. Mia, the hard-working Saturday girl at Va Va Bloom, is far more informed. She’s studied the Lingua Flora, the language of flowers. All educated Victorian misses would be familiar with this, think of it as sort of series of emojis, but the knowledge has now largely been lost. Instead of me going on, let Mia explain in this extract from the book:

‘I was nearly late for May’s order,’ Daisy admitted. ‘He wanted lilac.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s not something I get many requests for, to be honest. I had to ring round like crazy to get it filled in time. Had to get in touch with a French supplier. That’s the only place I could get it. The cold weather this spring affected the UK’s stocks apparently.’

‘Lilac?’ Mia asked sharply.

‘Yes, why?’

‘You know what it means, don’t you?’

‘It has a meaning?’ Daisy stared blankly. She hadn’t a clue what Mia was on about.

‘Love’s first emotions,’ Mia said dreamily. She sighed. ‘That’s so lush.’

Jan joined her daughter in staring at the girl.

Mia gazed back at them, misty eyed. ‘That’s what it means,’ she explained. ‘Love’s First Emotions.’

Daisy leaned against the shop counter. ‘You’re going to have to expand on that statement.’

‘In the nineteenth century the Victorians believed every flower symbolised something. You know, the language of flowers. Lingua Flora. It’s well cool. Lilac stood for first love. No Victorian lady would receive just a bunch of flowers, she’d read into the messages symbolised by the flowers. Just as no Victorian guy would give any old bouquet, it would be made up to reflect what he wanted to put over. It was a way of making his true feelings known if he couldn’t get past the crusty old chaperone. It wasn’t just for lovey-dovey romantic couples, either. A girl could reject some hopeless bloke, or someone could say how disappointed she was in a friend.’ Mia warmed to her theme. ‘It was literally a language. Even how the ribbon was tied was symbolic; to the left meant the message was about the sender, to the right it was about the person receiving it. An upside-down stem meant the opposite of the bouquet’s message and if you left thorns on the roses it said there was everything to fear. It was all amazingly complicated and subtle. Pretty cool, eh? And the Victorians would have known all the meanings, right down to the teeny tiniest nuance.’ There was a stunned silence. She gazed at the two bemused faces staring at her. ‘What? Oh my eggs Daisy, didn’t you know flowers had meanings?’

I had great fun finding out about flowers and their meanings – and make them fit into the plot and their growing season but I’ll never look at a bunch of flowers in quite the same way again – I’ll be examining the bouquet for its hidden meaning!

How fascinating, Georgia! Your book sounds fab, I hope it soars!

Meet Georgia

About Georgia Hill:

Georgia Hill writes warm-hearted and up-lifting contemporary and dual narrative romances about love, the power and joy in being an eccentric oldie and finding yourself and your community. There’s always a dog. It’s usually a naughty spaniel of which, unfortunately, she has had much experience. She lives near the sea with her beloved dogs and husband (also beloved) and loves the books of Jane Austen, collecting elephants, and Strictly Come Dancing. She’s also a complete museum geek and finds inspiration for her books in the folklore and history of the many places in which she’s lived. She’s worked in the theatre, for a charity and as a teacher and educational consultant before finally acknowledging that making things up was what she really wanted to do. She’s been happily creating believable heroines, intriguing men, and page-turning stories ever since.

You can find her here:

Twitter/X @georgiawrites

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/georgiahillauthor

Website www.georgiahill.co.uk

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